Books You've Read Recently

#26
#26
PoochPunt3rdDown said:
Yes. Fawk. I'm an idiot. Obviously, W & P is not about the Karamazovs. It's about a land war in Asia. I started drinking too early, apparently. :lolup:
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I very much enjoyed Brothers K (not as much as Crime and Punishment), however, I was not much of a fan of Alyosha. The monks seemed, to me, to resemble all that is wrong with religion, and, although he seemed good-hearted and well-intended, Alyosha appeared to let himself be used and exploited, completely, by his mentor, the old mystic monk.

I was much more a fan of Ivan, and I think that Ivan had some great arguments against Christianity/religion.
 
#27
#27
therealUT said:
I very much enjoyed Brothers K (not as much as Crime and Punishment), however, I was not much of a fan of Alyosha. The monks seemed, to me, to resemble all that is wrong with religion, and, although he seemed good-hearted and well-intended, Alyosha appeared to let himself be used and exploited, completely, by his mentor, the old mystic monk.

I was much more a fan of Ivan, and I think that Ivan had some great arguments against Christianity/religion.
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I think Alyosha was a pure embodinent of all that is good with religion/philosophy.
 
#28
#28
PoochPunt3rdDown said:
Atlas Shrugged is no masterpiece, imo. It's just The Fountainhead with a vagina.
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Didn't like either, but I wholly reject many of ayn rand's views... Though it's been years, so I'm sure I've lost some ability to articulate it. That said, as literature, her work is great.
 
#29
#29
milohimself said:
Didn't like either, but I wholly reject many of ayn rand's views... Though it's been years, so I'm sure I've lost some ability to articulate it. That said, as literature, her work is great.
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She was a forceful and hateful writer. I can only imagine the life experiences that made her such a mercurial bytch. That said, she was brilliant for one novel. Howard Roark was a classic character.
 
#30
#30
PoochPunt3rdDown said:
She was a forceful and hateful writer. I can only imagine the life experiences that made her such a mercurial bytch. That said, she was brilliant for one novel. Howard Roark was a classic character.
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There are traces of that same sentiment in every person I've ever met thats lived under the soviets
 
#36
#36
PoochPunt3rdDown said:
I've purposely avoided reading anything about this book. Without telling me why, is this comment funny?
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I don't really know much about it other than have some female friends who have read it. It's been described to me as soft porn, or "porn for women" since it actually has a plot.
 
#37
#37
Does anyone else love Vonnegut as much as I do. I think he was the most original and inventive writer to ever live. Knew some people who knew him, personally. Heard he was an insufferable prick. I was happy to hear that.
 
#38
#38
milohimself said:
Didn't like either, but I wholly reject many of ayn rand's views... Though it's been years, so I'm sure I've lost some ability to articulate it. That said, as literature, her work is great.
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If Nietzsche wrote novel the style would be Rand's.
 
#39
#39
wife just gave me George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. 4 books

-AGame of Thrones
-A Feast for Crows
-A Storm of Swords
-A Clash of Kings

Starting one tonight.
 
#40
#40
milohimself said:
Didn't like either, but I wholly reject many of ayn rand's views... Though it's been years, so I'm sure I've lost some ability to articulate it. That said, as literature, her work is great.
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She was an elitist, though she was right in a lot of ways. The free market creates, and government destroys. I still can't figure out why she despised anarchists. Anarchy should've been the logical conclusion derived from her philosophy.
 
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#42
#42
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8/10
 
#43
#43
Service by Marcus Luttrell and The Charm School by Nelson Delmille.

I like war and spy novels. The Charm School is an excellent Cold War Era spy novel that I could not put down.
 
#48
#48
Just received my John O'Hara book in the mail. It is a compilation of three stories: Appointment in Samarra, Butterfields, and Hope of Heaven. This cloth-bound copy was printed in 1963, and it is absolutely gorgeous.

Here is a selection from the first two pages:

DEATH SPEAKS: There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the market-place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride awway from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

-- W. Somerset Maugham
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And,
OUR STORY opens in the mind of Luther L. (L for LeRoy) Fliegler, who is lying in his bed, not thinking of anything, but just aware of sounds, conscious of his own breathing, and sensitive to his own heartbeats. Lying beside him is his wife, lying on her right side and enjoying her sleep. She has earned her sleep, for it is Christmas morning, strictly speaking, and all the day before she has worked like a dog, cleaning the turkey and baking things, and, until a few hours ago, trimming the tree. The awful proximity of his heart-beats makes Luther Fliegler begin to want his wife a little, but Irma can say no when she is tired. It is too much trouble, she says when she is tired, and she won't take any chances. Three children is enough; three children in ten years. So Luther Fliegler does not reach out for her. It is Christmas morning, and he will do her the favor of letting her enjoy her sleep; a favor which she will never know he did for her.
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#50
#50
Almost finished with Atlas Shrugged. Next on my list is a book called The Alienist. My boss raves about it.
 
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